Reflections on 9-11 … and an Update on LIFE

I couldn’t help but reflect on where I was on that fateful day, 7 years ago – can you believe it has been that long? Do you remember where YOU were? I had the day off from work and went to a friend’s house for morning tea and chat. We were clueless about the events that morning until her mother called and told her to turn on the news – we were shocked, along with the rest of the world that day. I left her house to meet another friend to go for a hike – I kept the radio on the whole way and heard the announcement about the second plane hitting the second tower. I met my other friend, and we discussed the events all day – not really having any idea how much else was happening around the country during the hours we were climbing the mountain, nor how those events would change the lives of so many people – individually, as well as a nation.

Anyways – maybe it’s just AGE (I just turned 50 this year ) – I find I am having tendencies to reflect and meditate more and I seem to be realizing increasingly how much I miss the “good ol’ days” – when life seemed so much simpler … and I miss my kids, family, and friends who were such an important part of my life for so long – but things change, people change, life changes – and paths diverge as everyone follows the plan God has for them.

I kind of went into a tail spin in February, because I got really sick with a particularly agressive flu strain – even had doctor-ordered time off and bed rest – along with a recommendation that I find a different job that didn’t keep me so stressed out with traveling 350 miles/week on winter roads! I sure loved the speech therapy sessions themselves, working with the kids, but the travel was just too much, along with the gas expense! So I gave my notice and then just concentrated on finishing my master’s program, which kept me busy all by itself.

Let me take just a minute to backtrack: Dave and I got married on Feb. 11, 2006 – and seriously, not just saying this – he really is the love of my life – and he says the same about me – after 5 1/2 years together, we still can’t believe how God must have orchestrated all the circumstances that brought us together – the odds were too great for us to meet by chance (through online dating!!) So it’s a ‘family’ of four here – the two of us – and Nikita, our black lab, and Mack, our Maine coon cat!

And Dave – sweetheart that he is – has been working a lot of overtime to take up the slack due to my non-existent income over the past few months. He is still working for RF Technologies as a fabricator-welder – it is a pretty high tech company, the best job he has had so far in his 20 or so years in the field – the best way to explain what the company does is to direct you to their web site: http://www.rftechnologies.net . Dave has actually worked on projects that now have been shipped to other parts of the country AND around the world – just a little while back, he worked on a 17-foot long x 6-foot wide aluminum microwave cell, half a million watts in power (Dave said that’s like 660+ of your average kitchen microwaves), that was shipped to a client in Russia, to be used in their wood laminating business – the microwaves activate the glue that fuses the large sheets of wood and veneer as they are passed through this huge microwave cell. The antenna pylons mentioned on the web site – the most recent ones – are some projects he worked on, as well. Yes, I’m proud of my hubby, in case you couldn’t tell!

After graduating in May this year from AIU (American InterContinential University) Online, with my Master’s in Education/Instructional Technology (and a 4.0 GPA!), the job search began – I couldn’t seem to find anything local, but also didn’t want to have to travel out of town, due to the high gas prices – plus I was getting the “You’re OVER-qualified for this job ” excuse from some employers! So I stopped looking for OUTSIDE work and started checking out some virtual positions with info provided to me by AIU Career Services.

Meanwhile, we did manage to have a mini vacation over the summer – couldn’t really afford to go anywhere, but we did make it to the ocean a couple times, and visited Maine’s own Fort Knox (no gold, but a really cool fort) AND this incredible tower on the new bridge, the Penobscot Narrows Observatory – 420 feet high – check out the site for details and pics: http://www.penobscotnarrowsbridgefest.com. We also attended Dave’s Mom’s family reunion, which is always fun. I also got a chance to make one trip to NH to visit at least two of my four ‘kids’ who are now all young adults, with busy lives of their own. I know my 3 girls are now back in college for the fall and my son is likely still job-searching, last I heard.

Of course it’s still NASCAR season – I was never a fan when I lived close enough to drive less than an hour to New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon – but Dave has been a fan for many years and he turned me into one! So that is our mutual activity on the weekends – watching the races together!

NOW, for MY work – I actually have several things going on, all ‘WAH’ (Work At Home) jobs – I have found a few of them through Virtual Vocations. The best one is an instructional design job – the concentration of my master’s degree – another is an online tutor for a writing lab – and then a few different types of writing jobs. I also have an online profile now at iFreelance ( http://www.ifreelance.com/pro/47890 ) and EditFast (http://editfast.com/english/editors/Karen-16986.htm ).

Oh – and I still get orders now and then for my home-based business (K-Lee’s Kreations – www.kleeskreations.com and http://stores.ebay.com/K-Lees-Kreations-and-Kollectibles) – like a quilt order that has already been paid in full just recently – and another person still deciding on what size quilt she wants to order – and a couple of ‘past due’ orders, since I’ve been so busy with writing and lesson reviews!

But really – I never realized there were so many legitimate ‘WAH’ (Work At Home) jobs – and I hadn’t ever really given much thought to pursuing a career in writing, even though I have always enjoyed it, and have quite an extensive background now in different types of writing! And now here I am, actually working **fulltime** at home (and for at least the rest of this year, I will be making about $3000/month – WORKING AT HOME!! ) – no gas expenses … it does take some getting used to, especially in the area of discipline and time management, and it does get a little lonely. But I can set my own schedule and fit in important things like … hopefully making a few trips to NH to visit my kids, family, AND friends – as well as going to the gym at least 3 times/week, first thing in the morning – taking care of our home – appointments as needed – shopping, errands, and all that.

Well, back to work … and hopefully I will be a little better about keeping this blog updated!